Cotton-harvesting machine



(No Modal.) 2 SheetsSl1eet 1. W. L. BLACK.

COTTON HARVESTING MACHINE.

Patented May 111883.

l||l H llllllllllllllllllllllllll IIIII Hllllllllillll I HIIHIIH III I a i Z UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC WILLIAM L. BLACK, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

COTTON-HARVESTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 276,661, dated May 1, 1883.

Application filed September 8,1882. (No model.) i

- To alt whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. BLAoK, of

St. Louis, Missouri, have made a new and useful Improvement in Cotton-Harvestin g Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, in which-- Figure 1 is a plan of the machine; Fig. 2, a side elevation; Fig. 3, a horizontal section; Fig. 4, a vertical longitudinal section Fig. 5, a front elevation of the central portion of the machine; Fig. 6, an elevation of one of the gathering devices, and Fig. 7 a horizontal section taken through one of the branches directiug or feeding devices. Fig. 8 is a section on line w to, Fig. 3.

The present invention is an improvement in straddle-row cotton-harvesting machines; and the points of novelty consist, as will be hereinafter fully described, and set out in the claims, of the means for directing the branches to the gathering devices 5 of the construction of the gathering devices 5 of the combination of the gatheringdevices,as constructed,with the stripping devices 5 of the combination of the directing, gathering, and stripping devices; of the means for transferring the cotton from the region of the strippers into the baskets at the rear end of the machine; and of the means for bending the plants, after being stripped,-down to the ground.

A represents the improved machine. The wheels B B support the casing G, and are the means for operating the mechanism of the harvester, which in its operation straddles the row of cotton-plants from which the cotton is being harvested. As the machine is drawn along the row the stalks of the plants encounter the guides D D. The aim and effect of these guides is to direct the stalks only of theplants into the central part of the machine. To this end the guides are made in the form of a horizontal bar or bars (one, two, or more, as desired, and in the drawingsfour beingshown) extended and curved, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, from the forward ends, 0 c, of the casing'inwardly, the inner "ends, at d, of the guides bein g in practice about two or three inches apart opposite the gathering devices. Thus constructed, the guides, while directing the stalks of the plant centrally into the machine, do not interfere with the branches of the plants.

The branchesof theplantsareoperated upon by what maybe termed the branches direct- U ing or feeding devices E E,the shape and arrangement of which are shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 7, the devices consisting substantially of a vertically-arranged shaft, 0, with wings c e radiating therefrom, and preferably having projections 6 6 standing out horizontally from the outer edges of the wings. The devices E E rotate in the direction of the arrows c of, Fig. 3, and they act to direct and force the branches ofthe plants to and against the gath ering devices F F. The devices E E are arranged so that the projections 6 c arewithiu the planes of the guides l) D, so as not tointerfere with the stalks of the plants. The wings e 0, extending vertically or crosswise to the'general direction of the branches of the plants, compel the branches to the gathering devices. The projections e c act upon those portions of the branches extending more in an upward and downward direction.

The gathering devicesF Fare shown in Figs. 3, 6. They are arranged in the rear of the directing devices E E, respectively, butare considerably nearer each other than are the devices E E, the devices F F being spaced apart just enough to admit the stalks of the plants between the two sets of gatheringarmsffi, whereas the directing devices E E are spaced far enough apart to admit the tips of the branches between the shafts c e. The gathering devices F F are each composed of a vertically-arranged shaft, f, having a series of horizontally-projecting arms, f f and preferably the plants, as described, and afterward, and

by means of other mechanism, the cotton is separated from the foreign matter. The cotton,

The gathering de" &e.,thus taken from the plants,is carried around and into contact with the stripping-brushes G G. These brushes are arranged vertically, and they rotate in the direction of the arrow g, Fig. 3. The feeding devices E E rotate much slower than the gathering devices F F; but the brushes G G rotate much faster than the gathering devices. The brushes G G strip the cotton, &c., from the gathering devices, and from the brushes the cotton, 850., drops or is delivered upon the floor c of the casing. A scraper or conveying device, H, arranged horizontally crosswise in the casing, rotating in the direction of the arrow It, then acts to sweep, force, or deliver the cotton over the incline 0 into the basket I, which hangs-at the rearend ofthe machine, and which as it is tilled is detached from the machine and emptied, and

then replaced to be again filled. After the plants have been denuded, as described, it is necessary to dispose of the stalks and get them out of the way of the machine. This is accomplished by closing the space at c at the. inner ends of the guides D D, which can be effected by extending a suitable cross-bar or other part across the machine at the point inquestion; but instead of a cross-bar one of the rollers 0 may be placed here, as shown in Fig. 4. It may be probably best to use a roller, so as to avoid friction and insure ease of operation.

machine various forms of intermediatemechanlsm may be used. That shown {consider to be well adapted to the purpose. The wheels B B are each provided with a gear, I), engaging with which gears b b are pinions J J upon the shafts j Bevel-gears K K upon the shafts jj engage with bevel-gears L L upon the shafts ff. The last-named shafts, ff, are also furnished with the gears M M, which respectively engage with the pinion N upon the brushshaft g and the gear 0 upon the feed-shaft e.

In transmittnig the power: to the various parts of the above-described The various pinions and gears named are correctly proportioned to produce the relative speedsv above described of the feeding devices, the gathering devices, and the brushes. A pinion, Figs. 2, 3, engaging with the gear I), is attached to the shaft 12, which has suitable bearings in the casing O. The motion of the shaft 1), by means of the gear Q, chain B, and gear S, is transmitted to the shaft k of the fan H. The gear S is upon the shaft W. This causes the fan H to rotate as described.

I claim- 1. A cotton-harvesting machine having the feeding devices E E, said devices having the wings c c, or other part, extending continuously from top to bottom of the receiving teeder, and arranged to bear crosswise upon.

2. In a cotton-harvesting machine, the feed-- ing devices E E, said devices consisting ofthe shaft e, the wings c c, and the projections c 6 substantially as described.

3. The combination, in a cotton-harvesting machine, of the guides D D, the feeding devices E E, as described, and the gathering devices F F. i

4. The gathering devices F F, having the knivesf f for the purpose described.

5. The gathering devices F F, having the armsff, and theknivesf f 6. Thecombination, in the cotton-harvesting machine A, of the brushes G G and the fan .H, substantially as described.

7. The combination, in a cotton-harvesting machine, A, of the casing (J, having the inclined floor 0 the scraper or conveyer H, and the basket 1, substantially as described.

8. The cotton-harvesting machine A,having the inner end of the space between the gathering devices F- F closed at the bottom for the purpose of bending the stalks downward beneath the casing O.

'9. The casing (3, having the rollers c, as and for the purpose described.

10. The straddle-row cotton-harvesting machine A, having the converging space between the guides D D closed at c, and provided at this point with a roller, 0 for bending the stalks downward beneath the casing 0, substantially as described. WM. L. BLACK] Witnesses (J. D. MOODY, W. J. KEs'r. 

